The US flew two US Air Force B-1B bombers over the Caribbean on Thursday in the latest US provocation in the region aimed at Venezuela, as the Trump administration is moving toward war with the country and seeking the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
A US official told The Wall Street Journal that the bombers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew near Venezuela. When asked about the report, President Trump said it was “false,” but the bombers were spotted on flight trackers, and other US officials confirmed the flight took place.
Last week, the US flew three B-52 bombers near Venezuela, in what the US Air Force called a “bomber attack demonstration mission.” US special operations helicopters have also flown within 90 miles of Venezuela as part of a major US military buildup in the region, which has involved the deployment of eight Navy warships.
The provocations come amid reports that the US is preparing to bomb Venezuela, and as President Trump is threatening to launch strikes against alleged drug shipments “on land.” While drug trafficking is the pretext for the military campaign, US officials have been clear that the real goal is regime change in Venezuela.
The US has also bombed at least seven alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and two in the Eastern Pacific Ocean near Colombia. The US War Department has provided no evidence to back up its claims about what the vessels were carrying or to back up its assertion that the people it has been killing are “narco-terrorists,” a term the administration has been using to justify extrajudicial executions at sea.
